What’s Up with Charlie Blackmon?

Although we’re still in small-sample-size territory — but leaving soon — it’s safe to conclude at this point that we know the Rockies are not a very good baseball team.

Their 7-24 record is the first indicator.

Plus, this team just keeps making history — and not in a good way.

After yesterday, that number increased to 31. And there’s more.

Not good!

There are many problems with this team, most centered on a lackluster offense, which explains the lack of home runs and stolen bases as well as high strikeout and low walk rates. A team that cannot score runs puts pressure on the pitching staff, and everything cascades from there.

Ryan McMahon is having a very good season as is Brenton Doyle — at least offensively. (Defensively, something is going on, but that’s a topic for another day.)

But a cornerstone of the Colorado Rockies has long been Charlie Blackmon. In fact, the Rockies brought the 37-year-old DH/outfielder back with a $13 million contract ($15 million with incentives) to provide leadership and a veteran bat. It’s worth exploring how that arrangement is working out so far.

At this point in his career, no one expects Blackmon to be as productive as he was as a younger player who has an impressive career wRC+ of 110.

Still, in 2023, Blackmon was a productive player. He finished the season with a 105 wRC+ and a slashline of .279/.363/.440 with eight home runs, a K% of 13.3% and a BB% of 9.4%, the best of his career. What Blackmon lost in power, he made up for with experienced patience at the plate. He also hit 24 doubles.

In short, he was an above-average player in a position to guide a young clubhouse — and players like Nolan Jones have been clear that Blackmon’s presence is key.

Who can say what’s happening in the clubhouse, but Blackmon’s on-field game early in the season has not been promising.

Currently, he’s slashing .217/.280/.337 with a wRC+ of 59. Moreover, his BB% is down (8.0%) from last season while his K% is up (15.5%). Because of Blackmon’s experience, manager Bud Black often places him at key points in the lineup, but he’s not yet been able to consistently be productive in those moments.

He’s had 100 plate appearances, seventh most on the Rockies roster, but is one of their least-effective hitters.

Then again, to be fair, most of the Rockies are ineffective at the plate, so he’s not alone, but the Rockies will need Blackmon to turn this around as they attempt to get back on track.

Blackmon’s history suggests it’s just a matter of time.

Still, it’s difficult to see this team resetting without Chuck Nazty leading the way.

Best Thing on the Internet

Jordan Beck got the call!

This one is from @Rockies Twitter, but surfing dinosaurs need to be appreciated. Beck quickly got his first hit and is one of the early positive stories coming from the Rockies.

What I’m Reading

Finals are next week, so I don’t have a lot of time for baseball reading right now, but here are a couple of things that I wanted to share.

• Skyler Timmins’ “The Broken Nature of a Historically Bad Rockies Team” (Purple Row) — Timmins writes about the collapse of an already-shaky team.

• Evan Lang’s “Rockies to Call up Angel Chivilli” (Purple Row) — The Rockies will use Hartford Yard Goat Chivilli while Justin Lawrence is on paternity leave in the coming days.

Closing Thoughts

That’s it for this week.

It’s got to get better, right?

As always, thanks for reading —

Renee

Rockies Pitch is a newsletter that focuses on Colorado Rockies baseball and tries to tell the stories no one else is.